From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Prevent \Pre*vent"\, verb (used without an object) To come before the usual time. [Obs.]
Strawberries . . . will prevent and come early. --Bacon.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Prevent \Pre*vent"\, verb (used with an object) [imp. & p. p. {Prevented}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Preventing}.] [L. praevenire, praeventum; prae before + venire to come. See {Come}.]
1. To go before; to precede; hence, to go before as a guide; to direct. [Obs.]
We which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. --1 Thess. iv. 15.
We pray thee that thy grace may always prevent and follow us. --Bk. of Common Prayer.
Then had I come, preventing Sheba's queen. --Prior.
2. To be beforehand with; to anticipate. [Obs.]
Their ready guilt preventing thy commands. --Pope.
3. To intercept; to hinder; to frustrate; to stop; to thwart. ''This vile purpose to prevent.'' --Shak.
Perhaps forestalling night prevented them. --Milton.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
verb
1: keep from happening or arising; have the effect of preventing; "My sense of tact forbids an honest answer" [syn: {forestall}, {foreclose}, {preclude}, {forbid}]
2: prevent from doing something or being in a certain state; "We must prevent the cancer from spreading"; "His snoring kept me from falling asleep"; "Keep the child from eating the marbles" [syn: {keep}] [ant: {let}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
69 Moby Thesaurus words for "prevent": abort, anticipate, arrest, avert, avoid, baffle, balk, ban, bar, block, check, control, curb, dam, debar, deflect, delay, deny, deter, disallow, discourage, dishearten, embargo, enjoin, estop, exclude, exclude from, fend, fend off, foil, forbid, foreclose, forestall, frustrate, hamper, help, hinder, impede, inhibit, intercept, interdict, interrupt, keep from, keep off, mitigate, obstruct, obviate, outlaw, preclude, prohibit, proscribe, refuse, reject, repel, repress, restrain, retard, rule out, save, say no to, shut out, slow, stave off, suppress, taboo, thwart, turn aside, ward, ward off
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